Magazine fights Colorado limit on pot publication

DENVER — A day after Colorado enacted a law taking marijuana magazines off store racks, three publications sued to block the provision.

High Times magazine and two other publications asked a judge Wednesday to prevent enactment of a law that requires stores to place marijuana-themed magazines behind the counter if they allow patrons under 21.

The requirement was added to a larger marijuana regulation signed into law Tuesday by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The law takes effect in July.

The magazine restriction was added to the marijuana measure after some parents complained about the magazines being visible to children. The provision doesn’t ban underage sales of the magazines, just requires that they be kept behind the counter in stores that allow shoppers under 21.

The publishers say the restriction goes too far and that the drug should not be treated like pornography. The magazines “do not sell or promote obscenity,” the complaint argues.

The complaint also says the magazines are “largely and often political, focusing on new and changing marijuana legalization and legislation.” The publishers pointed out that alcohol is likewise banned for people under 21, but magazines about beer and wine aren’t kept off store racks in stores where minors are allowed.

Colorado became the first state Tuesday to finalize laws to regulate how recreational pot should be grown and sold.

The measure includes not just the magazine limit but several other measures to prevent pot marketing to children. The law bans certain types of advertising and prohibits the use of cartoon characters or other images that could be seen as appealing to kids.

Washington state, the only other state to flout federal drug law and deem pot legal for adults without a doctor’s recommendation, is still working on its regulations for widespread pot sales. That state is not considering a similar magazine limit.

The Colorado lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver. The other publications suing are called The Daily Doobie and The Hemp Connoisseur.

The First Amendment Center is an educational organization and cannot provide legal advice.

Ken Paulson is president of the First Amendment Center and dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. He is also the former editor-in-chief of USA Today.

Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute, also is senior vice president of the First Amendment Center, a center of the institute. He is a veteran journalist whose career has included work in newspapers, radio, television and online.

John Seigenthaler founded the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center in 1991 with the mission of creating national discussion, dialogue and debate about First Amendment rights and values.

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We support the First Amendment and build understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.

The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.

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Help tomorrow’s citizens find their voice: Teach the First Amendment

The most basic liberties guaranteed to Americans – embodied in the 45 words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – assure Americans a government that is responsible to its citizens and responsive to their wishes.

These 45 words are as alive and important today as they were more than 200 years ago. These liberties are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican – they are the basis for our representative democratic form of government.

We know from studies beginning in 1997 by the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, and from studies commissioned by the Knight Foundation and others, that few adult Americans or high school students can name the individual five freedoms that make up the First Amendment.

The lesson plans – drawn from materials prepared by the Newseum and the First Amendment Center – will draw young people into an exploration of how their freedoms began and how they operate in today’s world. Students will discuss just how far individual rights extend, examining rights in the school environment and public places. The lessons may be used in history and government, civics, language arts and journalism, art and debate classes. They may be used in sections or in their entirety. Many of these lesson plans indicate an overall goal, offer suggestions on how to teach the lesson and list additional resources and enrichment activities.

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The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the cornerstone of American democracy – is the focus of the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. Recognized as one of the nation's finest constitutional-law competitions, this annual event features a current First Amendment controversy.

During the two-day competition in February, each team will participate in a minimum of four rounds, arguing a hypothetical based on a current First Amendment controversy before panels of accomplished jurists, legal scholars and attorneys.

Past participants in the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition have represented law schools nationwide, from Brooklyn Law School to Duke University to Arizona State to Harvard.

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State of the First Amendment survey reports

The State of the First Amendment surveys, commissioned since 1997 by the First Amendment Center and Newseum, are a regular check on how Americans view their first freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition.

The periodic surveys examine public attitudes toward freedom of speech, press, religion and the rights of assembly and petition; and sample public opinion on contemporary issues involving those freedoms.
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